Daily Archives: July 28, 2017

A commercial fishing vessel out of Morro Bay was returning to port when it ran aground early Friday morning near Point Estero off the coast of Cayucos. Nobody aboard was injured and there were no reports of significant water pollution or damage to the vessel, said U.S. Coast Guard Petty Officer Mark Barney. Harbor Patrol Supervisor Becka Kelly said the boat had been fishing about 40 miles off shore for slime eels. She said exhaustion and patchy fog may have been a factor in the ship running aground. click here to read the story 18:15

I see Nathan Guy is claiming the new electronic system for monitoring fishing vessels is the biggest change since the introduction of the commercial fishing quota system. I believe he has no knowledge of the history of his portfolio. Instead of writing paper reports we will do them electronically. Whoopee. Someone needs to tell him that this is being done in some form or another on most boats, along with AIS tracking on most company boats, although MPI probably doesn’t have access to a lot of it. It is only the smaller boats, that have the least impact, that don’t – as most can’t afford it. We already work under the most onerous system in New Zealand and probably the world. The extra detail being included is ridiculous and in some cases unworkable on a small boat. click here to read the letter 15:39

It was about four years ago when the sightings first began. In the beginning, just a few fishermen reported seeing large black whales in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, in areas clustered off the coast of Cape Breton Island. With each summer came more sightings. One was seen off the north coast of PEI. Another off of Pleasant Bay at Cape Breton Highlands National Park. A couple off of Southside Antigonish Harbour. Soon, the reports were in the dozens. The sightings were initially treated as a passing curiosity. The North Atlantic right whale, a rare and endangered species distinguished by patches of roughened white skin, had been seen off the coast of the Gaspé in Quebec before – though few could recall ever seeing them in this part of the gulf. But then came the deaths. That’s when everyone started paying attention – especially the fishermen. click here to read the story 14:47

It’s not often that beachgoers see a shrimp trawler skirting the beaches less than a mile offshore and in broad daylight. That’s what happened last week along the Anastasia Island coastline as a 75-foot trawler made its way north and meandered close to shore, attracting the attention of vacationers. As it turned out, the well-equipped “Lady Lisa” wasn’t shrimping at all. She is one of four research vessels maintained by the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources. The vessel is the primary sampling platform for several state and federal projects. It works near coastal waters between Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, and Cape Canaveral, Florida. A vessel with a storied past! click here to read the story 14:21

The Federation of Independent Sea Harvesters of Newfoundland and Labrador (FISH-NL) is outraged with an attack by the federal Minister of Fisheries and Oceans on the province’s inshore harvesters. “Dominic LeBlanc has said straight out he wants to devalue fishing licences when the only thing most inshore harvesters have to retire on is the sale of their license,” says Ryan Cleary, President of FISH-NL. “It’s not like there’s an FFAW pension plan.” “LeBlanc also appears out to end the ability of inshore harvesters to pass on licences to their children, a tradition that’s gone on for hundreds of years and critical to the future or the inshore fishery.” click here to read the press release 13:10

A New Hampshire fisherman leading the fight against a decision by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association to shift the cost of at-sea monitoring to industry has appealed the case to the U.S. Supreme Court. David Goethel of Hampton, New Hampshire, said he filed the appeal in early July. He is challenging the decision of a federal district court and the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which ruled in NOAA’s favor, according to the Associated Press. Goethal, who filed his original suit in December 2015, has been joined in his appeal by the Northeast Fishery Sector 13, which represents fishermen from Massachusetts to North Carolina. His legal support is being provided pro bono by the Cause for Action Institute.,, In Goethel’s appeal to the Supreme Court, he argues that NOAA’s requirement of at-sea monitors represents an illegal, warrantless search of private property, and that forcing the industry to pay for its own monitoring represents a violation of the Constitution’s Commerce Clause. click here to read the story 10:51

To whom it may Concern: I am retired fisherman out of Gloucester, MA. I would appreciate if our Senators, Congressmen and anyone in office would help us. I am listing some of the problems that are facing the commercial fishermen today and need your immediate attention and help. Most of these problems can only be resolved at the Federal Level. 1. The Magnusson Act needs to be updated. The wording needs to be changed so that the Courts and NOAA will have to consider and accept other scientific data.2. The Saltonstall Kennedy (SK) Act. Enacted in 1954.,,, click here to read the letter 10:11

One of the concerns for the future of the inshore fishery in this province is how difficult it can be for potential new entrants to obtain fishing licences and financial backing for vessels and gear. The issue was addressed by federal Fisheries Minister Dominic LeBlanc in a speech to the Canadian Independent Fish Harvesters Federation in Nova Scotia on Tuesday. LeBlanc said he wants to make the licensing process for inshore fishermen fairer, and is looking for their input into how best to do it. “Fishing licences have become over-valued in recent years,” the minister said. “This makes it extremely difficult for young fishermen to access the fishery, and more often than not prevents new entrants altogether.,, click here to read the story 09:46

For generations New Bedford fishermen withstood the elements to do their jobs. Through rain storms they fished. In choppy waters they fished. Against harsh winds they fished. So it was fitting that the unveiling of the city’s newly-created seafood brand was delivered in the rain at the Custom House Square in downtown New Bedford Thursday evening. “We are the biggest, the baddest, the most comprehensive fishing port in America,” Mayor Jon Mitchell said. “We are going to scream from the mountain tops that we are the biggest fishing port in America. We are a real seaport and real fishing port. We want everyone to know that.” click here to read the story, click here to visit www.NewBedfordSeafood.org 09:31

Finding fresh, locally caught fish isn’t easy, but if educated consumers are persistent, they will not only help local fishermen, they’ll also help rebuild weakened domestic seafood markets that have been deeply gouged by imports and regulations. Meghan Lapp, fisheries liaison for Seafreeze Ltd., a producer and trader of frozen seafood in North Kingstown, explained these points and more in her presentation, “Sea to Table: Bringing the Bounty of the Sea to You,” before an audience of about 40 people at the La Grua Center Thursday night. In attendance were state Sen. Heather Somers, R-Groton, First Selectman Rob Simmons and a number of longtime local fishermen. The Stonington Economic Development Commission sponsored Lapp’s presentation. click here to read the story 08:22

NILS STOLPE: The New England groundfish debacle (Part IV): Is cutting back harvest really the answer?

While it’s a fact that’s hardly ever acknowledged, the assumption in fisheries management is that if the population of a stock of fish isn’t at some arbitrary level, it’s because of too much fishing. Hence the term “overfished.” Hence the mandated knee jerk reaction of the fisheries managers to not enough fish; cut back on fishing. What of other factors? They don’t count. It’s all about fishing, because fishing is all that the managers can control; it’s their Maslow’s Hammer. When it comes to the oceans it seems as if it’s about all that the industry connected mega-foundations that support the anti-fishing ENGOs with hundreds of millions of dollars a year in “donations” are interested in controlling. Read the article here